1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an inking pad assembly for use, for example, in hand-held printing apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Small-size printing apparatus, such as hand-held label applicators including a print head, are assembled from a large number of parts each of which will have dimensional tolerances. Generally such tolerances do not adversely affect the satisfactory operation of an assembled apparatus, but it is inevitable that a percentage of the assembled apparatus will have a cumulative tolerance which results in slight misalignment of one part in relation to another. Such a cumulative tolerance error can arise between operative print facets or clichees of a print head and an ink-applying pad with the result that some clichees are inked more heavily than others and in extreme cases some clichees may not be inked at all. Such a situation is clearly undesirable since apparently incorrectly printed labels are liable to give rise to costly errors where prices or stock-coding are involved. If certain printed characters are too weak, loss of customer goodwill may arise.
Label applicators of the manually-operable kind are not large enough to accommodate ink reservoirs and it is, therefore, important that ink pads can readily be exchanged and that this exchange will not result in the operators' hands or clothes becoming stained with printing ink. Clearly an ink pad should satisfy the requirement that exchange can be effected without risk of such staining.
One object of the present invention is to provide an ink pad assembly which can be incorporated in a printing apparatus and will continue to ink print facets evenly, irrespective of misalignment between such facets and the pad.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an ink pad assembly which can be readily replaced in a printing apparatus which small risk of soiling an operators' hands or clothes.